Former Custodial Employee & Union Steward Victor Rosario Alleges Unjust Firing

For 17 years, former custodial employee Victor Rosario cleaned and maintained various University facilities. This past November, Rosario was fired as he attempted to return to work after recovering from a work-related injury, which he had sustained in his time at the University. 

In 2022, Rosario sustained his first shoulder injury while taking out trash from the Science Library. He claims that he was the only custodial employee assigned to clean four floors of the building and its conference room, noting that this was a particularly strenuous work assignment for one custodial worker. 

“I cleaned all of that by myself,” Rosario said. “The libraries always have a lot of trash, and since there’s no cleaning during the weekends, when I would arrive on Mondays the trash cans would be in horrible condition.” 

Rosario claims that he injured his shoulder due to this kind of workload. 

“I asked for help, but they never gave it to me,’’ Rosario said. “That’s why I got injured. The Science Library only has one [custodial employee].”

In late 2024, Rosario injured his neck and shoulder for a second time while cleaning Freeman Athletic Center, after which he required extensive medical attention.  

“I have gotten two surgeries….I am still receiving treatment for my shoulder and neck,” Rosario said.

The surgeries, covered by the management company’s health insurance for custodial workers, after Rosario’s second work-related injury rendered him incapable of performing the physical labor required by his job. To recover, Rosario used his vacation days until Jan. 2, 2025, and then took a nearly 11-month-long medical leave of absence from Jan. 2 to Nov. 17, 2025. 

After being cleared to work on health grounds, Rosario communicated his desire to return to work. Before he could officially return, however, he was fired by Service Management Group Corporate Services (SMG).

SMG is the facilities management company that outsources cleaning, janitorial, and maintenance services to the University and similarly large institutions on the East Coast. The University’s custodial employees report directly to SMG, which is responsible for all hiring and firing decisions of University custodial staff. 

According to United Student Labor Action Coalition (USLAC) members that The Argus spoke with under the condition of anonymity, a contractual clause allows SMG to fire employees if they are on leave for 12 months. While Rosario spent over a month’s worth of vacation days in addition to his almost 11-month-long medical leave, USLAC members claimed that there’s a legal distinction between personal leave and medical leave, and that the compounded leave cannot be counted altogether for the cutoff.  

Even so, USLAC coordinator Genesis Castro ’28 informed The Argus that, even when combining his vacation days and medical leave, Rosario was out of work for less than a year when he communicated his readiness to return to work on Nov. 17, 2025.

According to Rosario, SMG uses a warning system to make their decisions on when to fire an employee. When an employee completes a task incorrectly, or otherwise fails to fulfill their job requirements, the company issues them a warning. Once an employee is given three warnings, they are suspended. 

Rosario claimed that SMG searched for reasons to issue him warnings, usually without success. 

“They took advantage of a work accident that resulted in me getting two surgeries on my shoulder to fire me,” Rosario said.

Additionally, Rosario claimed that his superiors at SMG used the warning system to have him unfairly suspended a few years ago before ultimately firing him last year because of his advocacy for his fellow custodial employees working under the company. 

Rosario was previously elected and served as the steward of the union that represents the University’s custodial workers for eight years. As steward, Rosario would help his coworkers through difficult work-related situations. 

He shared one particular anecdote from the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the newer employees was cleaning the elevator with a certain chemical and it left a stain,” Rosario said, describing another employee’s mistake that he claimed SMG unfairly attributed to him. “Since I was in charge of that area, they used this incident to say that I was not doing my job. Only after I brought proof did they take back the warning. It was always like that for me because I was dedicated to defending the custodial staff.”

As a consequence Rosario was issued a warning and eventually suspended. After a short period, the suspension was lifted and he returned to work.

Rosario spoke more on his role as steward.

“My responsibilities [as a steward for the union] have always been to fight against injustice,” Rosario said. “SMG has not treated us like human beings. They treat us like robots. They always give us more and more work unjustifiably.”

However, Rosario does not believe that his injuries and leave of absence were the only reasons for being fired.

“I was fired as a result of my tendency to always defend [my coworkers],” Rosario said.  “The current [union] steward…does not defend the workers. I had to become an enemy of the University, the company [SMG], and the union because I was defending the workers. I don’t like injustices.”

Rosario expressed the financial and personal consequences he has experienced since his termination.

“Now that I am without a job, I am broke,” Rosario said. “I have family problems that have occurred as a consequence. One becomes an old man, working for so many years. When they decide they don’t need you, they toss you aside as if you were useless. Once they decide they need younger people, more robots, then they begin to think we have no worth.” 

Castro, who corresponds with many custodial workers on campus, wrote a description of Rosario’s reputation within the union in a message to The Argus.

“Upon my various conversations with staff, many shared that during his time as steward, they felt a strong sense of comfort and security,” Castro wrote. “Victor [Rosario] was consistently a diligent steward and worker, helping his colleagues understand their rights as SMG custodians and creating a bridge between workers and their union.”

Castro also highlighted how she envisioned the University community could help.

“Victor is currently filing a grievance with his union and hopes to have the support of the Wesleyan community in getting his job back,” Castro wrote. 

Associate Director of Facilities Management Jeffrey Sweet referred The Argus to Service Employees International Union 32BJ (32BJ SEIU) when asked for comment.

32BJ SEIU communications specialist Roxana Martinez-Garcia said that the union’s role in Rosario’s efforts to regain his job was sensitive information. 

“Obviously, because this is an ongoing grievance process that’s happening between the union trying to get Victor reinstated, there is not too much I can share publicly,” Martinez-Garcia said.

Martinez-Garcia summarized the union’s current role in Rosario’s efforts to regain his job.

“We have been in contact with Victor [Rosario],” Martinez-Garcia said. “We are in the process now of getting him reinstated. We’re in contact with SMG, with the school, to sift through all that we know to get his job back.”

As of the date of publication, Rosario has yet to regain his position at the University.

The Argus’ interview with Victor Rosario was conducted in Spanish and translated into English.

Hope Cognata can be reached at hcognata@wesleyan.edu.

Kealsy Rincón can be reached at krincon@wesleyan.edu.